Kyrie
by The All Real Numbers Symbol
Summary: Michel has been sent to earth escape a mysterious force that's after him. Problem: he has no powers and doesn't remember anything before he shows up on earth. Seira's determined to help him, but that may be harder than she thinks. And what's after him?
1. Michael

**Kyrie**

* * *

**Summary: **Michel's back. Seira's elated. But there's something wrong here. Why is Michel back? And why can't he remember anything…

**Rating:** T (For safety.)

**Genre:** General/Adventure

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Set about eight months after Pure. (Give or take two. o.O) Anyway, I was watching Pretty Cure Max Heart, and it inspired me to write this. Besides, I want another story about Michel. So, let's try this…

* * *

_The wind blows hard against this mountain side_

_Across the sea into my soul_

_It reaches into where I cannot hide_

_Setting my feet upon the road..._

_...My heart is old, it holds my memories_

_My body burns a gemlike flame_

_Somewhere between the soul and soft machine_

_Is where I find myself again…_

_-Mr. Mister, from their song 'Kyrie'_

* * *

**Prologue**

Hidden deep within the realm of the sky, there is a castle, which is home to many creatures known as the Ancient Ones.

The Ancient Ones have long lived here in peace, as protectors and guardians of the earth and its inhabitants. But then things changed…

"Is something wrong, Arella?"

Startled, the dark haired girl looked up at the green-haired, blue eyed man standing in front of her. "Ah, Michel-Sama!"

Michel crossed his arms over his chest. "Is it to much to ask that you just call me Michel?"

Arella shrugged. "Ojii-san says I must call you by your proper title."

Michel just snorted, then asked, "What are you doing?"

Arella hesitated. "Do you feel that?

"Feel what?"

"I don't know…It's something dark… and evil…"Arella trailed off, shivering slightly under her robes. "It's coming towards the castle."

"What!?" Michel demanded. He spun around, away from Arella. "If that's true, then we have to warn the others."

Arella was starting to look like someone in a trance. "It's too late for that…"

A moment later the castle shook as though something had struck it, send Ancient Ones throughout the castle reeling.

Ojii-san, leader of the Ancient Ones, reached for his staff as the castle continued reeling.

"You do not wish to fight us." An ominous voice said as the sky outside the castle turned dark. "You will not be able to win. Give us the one who has the form and power of your king, and we will leave the rest of you in peace."

"Michel-Sama! He means you!" Arella screamed.

Cracks were starting to spread through the floor of the castle.

"Surrender him to us!" The dark voice was insistent.

"He'll destroy this whole place." Michel realized. "I can't allow this! If they want me, I must go with them!"

Arella grabbed his arm before he could fly off. "Michel-Sama, you can't go!"

"This cannot be allowed." Ojii-san said. "I will not permit this. I will protect those in this castle."

"Michel, when the time is right you will return to us, but for now you must leave, lest the Dark Ones take you away."

"What are you talking about?" Michel demanded.

"There is no time to explain." Ojii-san told him, then he raised his staff and slammed it into the floor. A bright, glowing light spread out from it, engulfing the castle, and in the midst of it, with his wings not responding to his commands, Michel found himself in a freefall towards Earth.

_When the time is right, you will return…_

* * *

**Chapter 1: Michael**

"Hurry, Lucia-chan! If you don't walk faster, we're all gonna be late!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Lucia Nanami replied as she hurried after the orange haired girl. "Geeze, Seira, I didn't know Monday was something to get so excited about."

"Cut her some slack," Hannon Hosho, Lucia's best friend, advised her. "Seira's just anxious to turn in her poetry assignment."

"Do you think it was cheating to use Birth of Love?" Seira asked as she turned to the other two girls. "After all, I mean, it is my song."

Lucia wasn't listening. "Rina! Over here!"

The green-haired girl turned and saw them then came over to join them. "Ready for another Monday?" She asked.

"No!" Lucia moaned. "I didn't get my math assignment done!"

Hannon and Rina both gave her exasperated looks. "If you're talking about assignment thirty-two, we were told about it last Thursday." Hannon told her.

"I know! But I hate math!" Lucia replied.

Before Hannon or Rina could reply, the bell began to ring.

"Now we're really gonna be late!" Seira said as she broke into a run. "Come on!"

**XXX**

"Man, am I glad first period is over." Lucia muttered as she leaned against a wall in the hallway. "I hate Mondays."

"Lucia-chan!" Seira raced over to her, waving a paper back and forth. "I got an "A" on my assignment!"

"Good job, Seira." Rina said as she walked over. "How'd first period go, Lucia?"

Lucia moaned. "Don't ask. It was awful."

"Lucia, Rina, Seira!" Hannon called as she raced over to them. "What's up?"

"We're waiting for the next class to begin." Rina replied, but Hannon wasn't listening.

"Who's that?" She asked, looking down the hall where the lockers were. "I've never that guy here before."

He was taller than most of the male students at the school, and even though his hair was white, it was obvious he wasn't very old. His pupil-less eyes were pale blue, his white hair was pulled back into a ponytail except for two short strands hanging down in from of his ears. He was wearing the typical boy's uniform for the school, and a gold cuff bracelet on his left wrist.

He pulled an instrument case from his locker, than closed the door.

Lucia, Hannon, and Rina were still watching him when Seira fairly screamed, "Michel!"

Startled, the newcomer turned to face the face the four of them.

"Michel?" Lucia asked.

"Yes!" Seira replied. "He's Michel! Can't you tell?"

He raised an eyebrow at the four of them. "Do I know you?"

"Yes, you know us!" Seira said. "Remember when you tried to take over the world and you absorbed me into your wings but I knew you weren't evil and we sang our song and the Ancient Ones came back took you back home and-"

The new student looked completely dumbfounded. "I have no idea what you're talking about." The small gold hoop earrings in his ears quivered slightly as he shook his head.

"What's your name?" Rina asked him.

"Michael Yoriwofuruis." Michael replied.

"Don't you remember?" Seira asked as she grabbed onto his arm. "I'm Seira!"

"I don't think I've met you before." Michael replied. _And I think I'd remember if I had._

Seira, though, was not to be deterred, and swiped the instrument case Michael was carrying out of his hands. She snapped it open to reveal exactly what she'd been hoping to find: a gold concert flute.

"See, you have to be Michel! You even have his flute!"

Michael swiped the case back, snapped it shut, and stuffed it in his dark green backpack. "That's _my_ flute."

"Can you play it?" Seira asked.

"Yes, I can play it; I can play it very well." Michael slung his backpack over his shoulder and turned to walk away. "It was interesting meeting you, but I have to get to class."

The four girls watched as Michael walked away.

"I get the feeling we won't be going home very soon." Hannon observed.

"Seira, are you sure that was Michel? Maybe you were wrong." Lucia suggested.

"I'm not wrong! That was Michel!" Seira insisted.

"He did say his name was Michael." Rina said slowly.

"And he did have a flute." Hannon offered.

"But why doesn't he remember anything?" Lucia asked.

"I don't know." Rina said. "But maybe we'd better keep an eye on him."

There was no time to discuss anything further, for just then the bell began to ring, and the girls headed off to their classes.

A wraithlike figure was standing in the hall a few feet behind the girls as they walked away. She had long black hair, and golden yellow eyes. On the left side of her head, she was wearing a yellow star shaped clip.

"Yes, Mermaid Princesses, please keep an eye on him." She said softly, then closed herself in her four black wings and vanished away.

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Please don't kill me for this… I just wanted a story about Michel and then I watched Max Heart as was inspired, and well, yeah.

I'm not really following the plot of Max Heart, though this was inspired by it. I haven't finished all of Max Heart yet, but, hey. Credit where credit is due. I'm assuming most of you know how honorifics work, so there's only a couple things I'll need to go over. First: Ojii-san. This is supposed to mean 'grandfather' and is the name I gave to the leader of the Ancient Ones. As for the mysterious thing that attacked the castle and Arella, we'll learn more about them later. Mich(a)el's last name will be explained later, too.

Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought. ConCrit is welcome, flames will be laughed at.


	2. Tsubasa wo Daite

**Kyrie**

**Chapter Two: Tsubasa wo Daite**

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Hello people! Here we have chapter two. Oh, by the way, I forgot this last time...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mermaid Melody. Fortunately for Michel.

* * *

_Next Day.._

Rina tapped her pencil on her notebook, impatiently waiting for the lecture to be over. While the teacher droned on, she glanced around the room.

Michael was sitting two desks over, scribbling away in his notebook.

Rina tapped the end of her pencil on her notebook, then glanced back at the clock. _Ten minutes to go._

Ten long minutes later, the bell finally rang, and class was over. Rina collected her books and pencils, then stood up and headed towards the desk Michael was still sitting at. As she took the few steps to his desk, she mentally reviewed the plan she and the others had come up with last night.

"Taking lots of notes?" She asked.

Startled, Michael looked up, but relaxed when he saw it was just her. "Actually, I'm trying to write a song I've had stuck in my head for awhile now." He replied. "It's taking awhile because I'm also writing the music so I can play it on my flute."

"May I see it?" Rina asked.

Michael handed her the notebook, and Rina looked at the page it was open too. It began with a line of music, and followed with words underneath. There were several lines of music on the page.

Rina's eyes widened as she saw the words underneath the music.

_The sky far away from here is illuminated_

_I fly forth, aiming towards that light, but_

_The cold rain soaks my wings, _

_And I'm alone again today._

_Tsubasa wo Daite! He has to be Michel!_ Rina thought to herself. _But why can't he remember anything?_

"Seems interesting," Rina said as she handed the notebook back to him. "I wanted to apologize for Seira's behavior yesterday. She didn't mean anything by it; you know how little kids are."

"Well," Michael hesitated. "Actually I don't."

"You don't?" Rina asked.

"I can't remember very much of anything before I showed up here. Maybe I was in an accident or something." Michael replied. "Which reminds me, have I met you before?"

"Well, we did meet yesterday." Rina said, wondering how much she should reveal. "I'm Rina Toin. The blue haired girl with me was Hannon Hosho, and the dark blonde was Lucia Nanami. Of course, you already know Seira."

"Where do you live, Michael?" Rina asked as he shoved his notebook into his backpack.

"An abandoned house outside this town." Michael replied as he slung his backpack over one shoulder and turned to leave.

"Well, that's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about." Rina said as she followed him into the hall. "You probably didn't know this, but Lucia's older sister runs a guesthouse, the Pearl Piari, and we…" Rina suddenly stopped as she realized how this would sound. "She needs more help to take care of the place, and asked us if we knew anyone who needed an after school job. We thought if you didn't already have work, maybe you'd like the job."

"You really feel bad about how your friend Seira acted, don't you?" Michael asked. "She didn't really bother me. But I could use the work. What time should I be there?"

"Just after school would be fine." Rina said.

"I'm going to get a song book I can use for flute practice." Michael decided, and turned towards the music room. "I'll see you after school, Rina-san."

He entered the music room and closed the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Hannon raced up to Rina. "Well, did you ask him?"

"To come stay with us?" Rina replied. "No. Maybe that would work if he remembered us and realized we were offering him a place to stay, but he doesn't remember us, and asking that would awkward."

"Yeah, I guess it kinda would be." Hannon realized. "Then he really is Michel?"

Rina nodded. "He was writing down a song in his notebook he thought he had heard before. I got to see the lyrics. He didn't know where he learned it, but he was writing Tsubasa wo Daite."

"Oh, my." Was Hannon's first response, then she asked, "So what'd you do?"

"I asked him if he needed a job, and told him Nikora need help with the guest house." Rina replied. "He's coming over after school."

"Okay!" Hannon said. "We'll be ready."

The same wraithlike figure from before watched the two of them disperse off to their classes as the bell rang.

"I found one of the Heart Orbs." She said to the empty hallway as she held up the small, glowing yellow ball of energy. "It's one of the Memory Orbs. Hurry, Mermaid Princesses. The fate of a people may rest in your hands."

* * *

The Pearl Piari would have been easier to locate had Rina given him directions, but all he'd had to do was ask, and a passerby had been able to help.

As Michael headed up the path to that lead to the front door, he noticed an older girl with purple hair pulled back into a strange bun.

"Are you Nikora-san?" He asked.

"Yes." She said as she set her rake down and turned to look him over. "You must be Michael. Rina and Lucia told me you were coming."

Michael nodded.

"Perfect. We need someone to work check-in." Nikora said cheerfully. "Come with me, I'll get you set up."

* * *

"Did you find the one who has the form of the Ancient Ones' king?"

"Forgive us, master. The leader of the Ancient Ones sent him away."

"Well, then track him down!"

A pause. "Master, the leader of the Ancient Ones took away his powers and memories. We have no way to track him!"

The 'Master' swore. "Do you know where he was sent?"

Another pause. "A small island country on the planet Earth. Those who dwell there call it "Japan.""

"Then go there, and FIND HIM! Tear that island apart if you have to, but find that Ancient One and bring him to me!" This time the 'master' paused. "And I want him brought back alive, understand?"

"Yes, Master."

"Then what are you still standing there for? GO!"

* * *

"Argh! Why is it that even though we don't rent out all these rooms, we still have to clean all them?!" Lucia growled as she shoved her cleaning supplies back into the janitor's closet.

"Because it comes with running a guest house." Nikora calmly replied. "Besides, if left alone, those rooms just get dirty, and we can't put guests in dirty rooms."

"Did Michael already go home?" Lucia asked.

"Yep. He's going to start working here tomorrow." Nikora replied, then asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea, Lucia?"

"Ah… I don't know." Lucia replied. "He's not our enemy anymore, but I can't figure out why he's back here. And why can't he remember anything?"

"Perhaps he has amnesia." Rina, who had come over in time to hear Lucia's last question, suggested.

"But how did he get it?" Lucia asked.

"Dunno." Rina simply replied as she leaned against the wall. "Anyway, it's getting late. I'd better head home."

"Okay. See you tomorrow, Rina."

* * *

Seira was in bed, trying to get to sleep, but she couldn't get comfortable. She tossed, and turned, and finally decided to get a drink of water.

But when she sat up, she saw she wasn't alone in her room. Standing in the center of the floor was a girl with waist length black hair and gold star clip on the left side of her head. Her eyes were gold, and she had two pairs of black-feathered bird like wings on her back.

She was wearing an outfit like the one Hannon wore in her Aquamarine Pearl Voice form, but this one was different. It had no lace up the sides, and was different colors than the outfit Hannon wore.

The tubing around the top of the bodice was gold, along with the sparkles on the bodice itself, which was black. The short skirt had two layers; the top one was black, and the bottom one was a golden yellow. She wore black ruffled gloves with the same layering as her skirt, and one slender gold band bracelet around each wrist. Her shoes were completely different; they were knee-high, black with gold bands around the top and gold heels, plus a yellow-gold stripe up the front.

"Who are you?" Seira asked as she put her hand on her seashell locket.

"My name is Arella." The girl said. "And I didn't come to harm you. I came because of Michel."

"You know Michel?" Seira asked. "Are you one of the Ancient Ones?"

"In a manner of speaking." Arella said. "My mother was an Ancient One; my father was from a different dimension. But that isn't important. Do you want to help Michel?"

"He's my friend! Of course I do!" Seira said, then asked, "What happened to him?"

"About a week ago, our castle was attacked by a group of mysterious beings called the Dark Ones. They were angry about something Michel-Dono, our king of long ago, did. And they were going to take it out on Michel. But our leader, Ojii-san, sent Michel away." Arella explained. "To keep the Dark Ones from finding him, Michel's powers and memories were taken away. They were split into twelve Heart Orbs and scattered. Six white ones are Power Orbs, and six yellow ones are Memory Obs."

"If we find those orbs, can we bring Michel's memories back?" Seira asked.

Arella nodded. "He talked about you, Seira, and told us how you believed in him, even when he didn't believe in himself. That's why I came to you. The Dark Ones are trying to find him, and in the meantime, they are searching for the Heart orbs. You have to find them before the Dark Ones do." The girl pulled out a pink, heart shaped mirror and handed it to Seira, who took it by the handle and looked at it. Around the edge of the face of the mirror were twelve separate slots, six on one side, and six on the other. On one side, a yellow star charm hung off the mirror, and on the other side, a pink heart charm. On top of the mirror was a gold crown.

"What is this for?" Seira asked as she looked at Arella.

"To hold the Heart Orbs. I needed some way to disguise it, so I choose a mirror. It's perfectly normal for a girl to carry a mirror around. The six Memory Orbs go in the slots along the bottom edge of the heart, and the six Power orbs go in the top slots." Arella explained.

"So we can find the Heart Orbs and put them in the mirror?" Seira asked.

"Yes, but until you collect all twelve, don't let Michel get his hands on that mirror. It would be bad." Arella said. "So, will you help me?"

"Of course I will!" Seira exclaimed.

Arella smiled, and pulled out a glowing yellow ball of energy about the size of a ping-pong ball and flicked it towards the mirror. "I found one of the Memory Orbs today." The ball of light flew over to the mirror and entered one of the slots on the right, above the star charm.

"I have to leave." Arella said. "If they find me, they'll make me tell them where Michel is."

"Will you come back?" Seira asked.

"If I can find more of the Heart Orbs, I will." Arella turned to leave. "Good Luck, Seira."

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Sorry if the divisions seemed kinda jerky. I forgot to mention last time that Michel's human form is inspired by another story on this site. I wish I could still read that story, but I found parts of it to be questionable, so... Yeah.

So here we get a beginning plot developement going on. We learn what has to be done to bring Michel's memories back, and a bit about who's after him, and why. Also, the Mirror. I have made a picture of this mirror, if you're intersted in seeing it. There's a link in the Story Companion Art section of my profile, or you can take the spaces out: http:// dialr4infinity (.) blogspot (.) com/2009/03/seiras-mirror (.) html.

Please read and review! I appreciate it!


	3. The First Heart Orb

**Kyrie**

**Chapter 3: The First Heart Orb**

* * *

Arella's carefree, devil-may-care attitude had officially vanished. Having lived with the Ancient Ones her whole life, she had learned how the Dark Ones had tried to destroy the Ancient Ones, and how Michel-Dono, their king, had defeated the Dark Ones and banished them away to a dark realm. But that had been so many years ago. She had not expected them to ever come back, or to try and take their anger out on Michel.

But that had changed.

A new day was arriving; the horizon was beginning to grow light. She had to leave before the Dark Ones found her here. She cast one last glance back at the small house Michel was currently calling home, then spread her wings and flew away.

_Why didn't you tell him the truth, Ojii-san? Why did things turn out like this?_

_

* * *

_

"_You know what to do. Find That Ancient One and bring him back!"_

One of the Shadow King's dark servants, in human form, was patrolling the streets of the town. "Find him…" It growled as it glanced at the milling crowds. It paused to scan the minds of a few of the humans. "Negative…"

It watched as another human, this one with white hair and blue eyes, pushed through the crowds, a dark green backpack slung over one shoulder.

The creature narrowed its eyes and scanned its subject's memory. "Negative…" The creature growled, then turned away to continue its work.

And Michael continued on his way to school, oblivious to what had just transpired…

* * *

"Seira, I know you like to keep tabs on that mirror, but do you really think you should have brought it to school?" Lucia asked.

"I have to keep it with me." Seira insisted. "What if we find one of the Heart Orbs? We have to have it ready!"

"Do you really think that that's going to work?" Hanon asked, herself and Lucia having been told of what Seira had learned the previous night. "I mean, what, we just put all these orbs back together and give the mirror to Michael, and everything will be fixed?"

"I'm sure it will!" Seira proclaimed. "We can find the Heart Orbs, I know we can!"

Lucia and Hanon didn't reply.

A moment later, the three of them turned as they heard the sound of a motorcycle coming up behind them. They watched as Rina stood up and took off her helmet, then handed it back to Hamasaki.

"Thanks for the ride." She said as she grabbed her bag and turned to head up the path to the school building. "I'll see you at five."

"Later." Hamasaki called as he drove off.

"Well, Rina." Rina came to a stop as she saw Lucia, Hanon, and Seira standing there.

"What are you doing out here?" Rina asked.

"We were just on our way to school." Hanon said slyly. "You mean you're not gonna play hooky and go on a date with Hamasaki?"

"What are you talking about?" Rina demanded. "I was running late, and Hamasaki offered to give me a ride."

"Oh, is _that_ all?"

"YES!"

"You don't have to explain it to us." Hanon waved her hand back and forth, as though brushing Rina's words away.

"Ah, you're so annoying, Hanon." Rina said.

While this had been going on, Seira had tucked the mirror into her back pack, and begun looking around. "Michael!" She suddenly shouted as he came into the school yard.

Michael turned and saw Seira and the others, then began heading towards them. "Lucia-san, I'm afraid I'm going to be late arriving at the Piari today. I'm staying late to work on some assignments. Will your sister mind?"

"Nikora," Lucia spoke slowly, her mind trying to follow the sudden change of subject. "No, she won't mind. How late do you think you'll be?"

"Maybe about a half-hour, or forty-five minutes." Michael replied.

"Okay, then it'll be fine. We'll tell Nikora."

Michael nodded. "Thank you," He said, then turned and walked away.

"You're not cheating on me, are you?"

Lucia spun around. "Kaito! I was just talking to him." She started to mope. "You know I wouldn't cheat on you."

Kaito just grinned at her, then asked, "Who was he?"

"Actually, he's Michel." Hanon told him.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "The psycho angel?"

"One and the same." Hanon confirmed.

"Well, not the same." Rina corrected. "He can't remember anything."

"Amnesia?" Kaito asked.

"Who knows?" Hanon replied.

"I do!" Seira piped up. "Michel had his memories taken away, but if we gather the twelve Heart Orbs, we can bring them back!"

Rina turned to look at Hannon and Lucia. "Uh, yeah, we were going to tell you about this." Lucia told her. The two of them quickly related what Seira had told them about her late-night visitor.

"And she gave me this mirror!" Seira held up the heart shaped mirror. "It can hold the Heart Orbs! And it already has one in it! Now we just have to find the other eleven."

No sooner had Seira finished, then the bell rang.

"Well, right now we'd better get to class." Kaito said as he turned and headed for the school building.

* * *

"Master!"

"Did you find that Ancient One?"

"No, Master, we found something else!" The underling held out a glowing ball of white energy to his master.

"A Heart Orb?" The Master threw his head back and laughed. "Ojii-san, you're getting less creative in your old age. No matter." He turned his attention back to the underling. "Use these to draw him out. But I want him found and brought to me! Understand?"

"Yes, Master."

* * *

"You know what my other favorite part of school is, Hanon?" Lucia asked.

"Lunch break?" Hanon guessed.

"How did you know?"

"You're not too hard to figure out." Hanon said as she took another bite of her food.

"Hey look, there's Michael." Lucia said as she looked at the students milling about the schoolyard. She and Hannon watched as Michael walked past them, holding his instrument case and a music book.

"What's he doing?" Lucia asked. "Flute practice?"

"Could be." Hanon said as she took another bite. "He seems to love that instrument."

Michael found a deserted seat on a picnic table on the other side of the school building. He sat down, opened his music book, and then took out his flute and began to play.

"Hey, you!" Michael stopped playing, and turned to look at the two guys approaching him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Playing my flute." Michael calmly replied.

"Yeah?" The first guy demanded. "Well, the rest of us don't want to hear that, so knock it off."

Michael gave him a look of disgust. "I recall having no need to answer to you."

"You tryin' to make something out of this?" The guy demanded.

"Something wrong here?" The two students turned to see Kaito standing there.

"Ah! Domoto-senpai." The second one said. "We were just…"

"Telling this loser to quit playing that stupid instrument!" The first one finished.

"Don't say that to him!" The second one exclaimed. "His parents were musicians."

Michael looked at Kaito, who shrugged slightly, indicating he had no clue what was going on.

The first guy scowled at Kaito and stalked away, his friend following him.

"Perhaps I shouldn't practice around here." Michael said as he put his flute back in its case.

"Don't let them bother you. A lot of people practice their music here. I don't know why they decided to go after you. I'm Kaito Domoto."

"Michael Yoriwofuruis."

"Yoriwofuruis?"

"Yes."

"Kaito!" Michael and Kaito both turned to see Lucia run to them.

"Have you already met Lucia?" Kaito asked.

"Yes, we met earlier." Michael replied. "Would you excuse me, please?" He asked as he walked past them and back towards the school building. He headed inside as Lucia turned to Kaito.

"What were you doing, Kaito?" Lucia asked.

"Meeting your new friend." Kaito replied.

"You're not mad at him for stealing your memories?"

He shrugged. "Does it matter? If I was to accuse him now, he'd have no idea what I was talking about."

"Then you think he's Michel, too?" Lucia asked.

"Yoriwofuruis."

"What?" Lucia gave Kaito a confused look.

"Yoriwofuruis." Kaito repeated. "His last name can literally translate into 'from the ancients.' The Ancient Ones, you know?"

Lucia was silent for a moment, and Kaito asked, "So, what are you going to do now?"

"Start looking for the Heart Orbs, I guess." Lucia replied.

"Lucia, Lucia!" Lucia and Kaito turned to see Seira run up to then, holding what Hanon had dubbed the Heart Mirror in one hand. "Look, the mirror is glowing!"

"Maybe there's a Heart Orb nearby."

"Let's go look for it!" Seira exclaimed.

Lucia turned to Kaito. "Can you cover for us?"

"I'll do my best."

"We'll go look for the Heart Orb." Lucia said. "Come on, we'd better get Hannon and Rina."

* * *

"Pink Pearl Voice!"

"Aquamarine Pearl Voice!"

"Green Pearl Voice!"

"Orange Pearl Voice!"

The four Pearl Mermaids, now in their Idols forms, stepped out from the alley they'd used to privately transform and hurried down the sidewalk.

"Lucia, why did we transform when we're just looking for a Heart Orb?" Seira asked.

"Because the police will stop us if we walk around in our school uniforms in the middle of the day." Rina replied. "Come on, let's find that Orb and get back to school."

"The glow is getting brighter." Seira said as she looked at the mirror. "We must be getting closer."

Suddenly all four of them came to a stop as a monster burst out of a nearby building. It was tall and formless, with no distinguishable features, other a completely dark body and yellow eyes.

"What is that thing?" Hannon asked.

"I don't know." Rina replied.

"But it has the Heart Orb!" Seira nearly shouted as she pointed at monster. Sure enough, in its giant hand, the monster was holding a small white ball of energy.

"The last one was yellow, but I'm sure that's it." Seira said, still holding tightly to the mirror, whose glowing now reached a near fever pitch.

"Then we'll stop that monster and take the Orb." Lucia said as she pulled out her microphone. "Pichi Pichi Voice Live Start!"

All four mermaids began singing.

_The rainbow wind_

_Blows at the far off coast_

_Before dawn there was a melody I heard_

_It's a very nostalgic song_

_The birds that fly towards the Eastern sky_

_Well, they're taking a shortcut to the Treasure Island_

_Where the paradise of the seven seas lies_

_After the night of the storm_

The creature screeched in irritation as it heard the song.

_Another life is born only to pass love along_

_As long as we have the melody of the seven countries,_

_Even if a day comes when no one journeys here,_

_I'll never forget._

"Love Shower, Pitch!" A spattering of stars flew at the creature, which again screeched. "Would you like an encore?" Lucia offered.

The creature dissipated away, leaving behind a small white orb of energy, which floated down and entered one of the white slots in the top of the mirror.

"We got another Heart Orb." Seira said excitedly.

"Yep. Two down, ten to go." Rina said. "Anyway, we'd better get going."

"Back to school?" Hanon asked.

"Well, we should." Rina said.

"Or we could help you get ready for your big date tonight and forget about school." Hanon suggested.

"I like that idea!" Lucia exclaimed. "C'mon, let's go!"

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** The end of chapter three. Is anyone out there still reading this story, or am I writing this for no reason, other than to take up bandwidth?

Anyway, story notes. The plot is slowly starting to unfold. We finally learn the meaning of Mich(a)el's last name, thanks to Kaito. That Japanese might be messed up, sine I just googled it. Meh. We are not going to be seeing Rina's date (at least I don't think we will), although Lucia and Hanon might make reference to it later on. (I'd really like to know how that subplot got in here.) You may have also noticed that the summary has been changed. I did not like the first one, even thought it is still logged in chapter 1 as the summary. It has also come to my attention that I am misspelling Hanon's name, as it should be 'Hanon' instead of 'Hannon', so that's the reason for the name differences between this chapter and the other two.

Anyway, that's all I got. Please review.


	4. Welcome to the Pearl Piari

**Kyrie**

**Chapter 4: Welcome to the Pearl Piari**

* * *

"Michael, you're late."

Michael dropped his backpack behind the reservation desk and glanced at the clock. Four o'clock. Not bad considering he had stayed a half-hour after school and returned home long enough to change clothes.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I told Lucia I was staying late, and she said she would tell you. Did she not tell you, then?"

Nikora frowned. "I haven't seen Lucia yet this afternoon." _But there'll be trouble when she finally gets back._

Suddenly she noticed Michael was still standing there. "Don't worry about it. It was Lucia's fault for not letting me know. Just get to work. My other three helpers have skipped out, so we're shorthanded."

Michael nodded, then headed for the reservations desk. _I wonder what she means by 'skipped out'…_

* * *

"Lucia, Hannon, Seira, you are so late…WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?!"

Lucia rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Well, something…came up?"

Nikora scowled at her. "And exactly what came up?"

"We had to fight a monster," Hannon told her.

"And we found anther Heart Orb." Seira piped up.

Nikora crossed her arms and gave the three of them an incredulous stare. "It took you an hour and half to fight a monster? What did you have to do? Sing every song you know?"

_She doesn't realize we left school after lunch._ Lucia realized. _Thank you, Kaito._

"Well, we got distracted." Lucia said. Then a thought occurred to her. "Oh, ah, Michael said he was going to be late…" She stopped when she saw Nikora's face.

"He's already here." Nikora said shortly and she used her thumb to point at the reservation desk.

"…"

Nikora sighed. "Never mind. Just get to work."

* * *

"Michael's definitely not as aggressive as he used to be." Lucia said as she lugged the vacuum to the next room.

"I guess losing your memory can do that to you." Hannon said as she followed with a trash bag. "So, do you think Rina's having a good time with Hamasaki?"

"I dunno. Let's ask her when she gets back. She'll hate that." Giggling like idiots, the two of them began working on the next room.

-

The best thing about the job, Michael had decided, was that very little happened. Only two people had checked in so far that afternoon.

In the meantime, he was free to work on his song. He added another note to the music, then hummed the line under his breath. No, that was the wrong note. He erased it and tried a different one.

"Dusting, dusting, dusting!"

Michael looked to the left to see Seira dusting the reservation table.

"Could you move your book please? I need to dust there." Seira said.

Michael lifted the notebook up, allowing Seira to finish dusting the reservation desk.

"So, does everyone have a job here?" Michael asked.

Seira nodded. "Yep. Nikora says since we all live here, we all have to help."

"I knew Lucia was Nikora-san's younger sister, but I didn't think you all actually lived here." Michael said.

"Everyone except Rina." Seira replied. "She has her own house. And a really big TV."

"Of course, you're more than welcome to stay if you wish, Michael."

Both Michael and Seira turned to see Madame Taki standing there. Nikora was right behind her.

"Ah, Michael, this is Madame Taki. She owns the Pearl Piari." Nikora said. "Taki-san, this is Michael…" Nikora hesitated as she realized she could not remember his last name – assuming Lucia had told her.

"Yoriwofuruis." Michael supplied.

"Yoriwofuruis." Nikora finished.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Michael." Taki told him. "You don't appreciate where you're staying now, do you?"

Somewhat hesitantly, Michael shook his head.

"I knew it." Taki said, somewhat triumphantly. "Well, you're more than welcome to move into the Piari, if you wish. As you can see we have plenty of room, and since you work here, it's not like you would be underfoot if you stayed."

"Thank you. I will consider your offer."

"You do that." Taki said. "It's a standing offer."

With the air of someone who has completed a mission, Taki turned and swept away, Nikora following her. But before either Seira or Michael could say anything, a couple came in to rent a room for the night. Michael checked the guests in, and Seira wandered off to find something else to dust.

* * *

When Michael showed up the next afternoon, he told Taki he was ready to take her up on her offer.

"So he's moving into the Piari now?" Seira asked from where she and Hannon were eavesdropping behind the door.

"Yep." Hannon replied. "Now we can really keep an eye on him."

Before Hannon could say anymore, the door suddenly swung wide open and Michael stepped out of the room. He paused, realizing that something behind that door had just crunched. He turned and shut the door, only to see Hannon and Seira behind it, looking slightly squished.

"You two were behind the door?" He asked.

Hannon saw no point denying the obvious. "Yep."

"Were you listening through the door?" Michael asked.

"Not at all." Hannon said as she racked her brain, trying to figure out what excuse she could give. "We were just talking about Lucia's birthday, you know, how we should celebrate. But we want a surprise party so don't tell her about."

Michael nodded his agreement then walked away.

After he was gone, Seira turned to Hannon. "Hannon-chan, Lucia's birthday isn't for two months!"

"You know that, and I know that, but Michael doesn't know that." Hannon said. "Besides, he doesn't need to know we were talking about him."

"Seira, Hannon, what are you doing?" Hannon turned and saw Lucia and Rina standing there.

"We were picking up information," Hannon replied.

"Michael's gonna stay with us at the Pearl Pairi!" Seira blurted out.

"Good." Lucia decreed. "Now we can keep an especially close watch on him."

Then Hannon noticed something. "Rina, where did you get that necklace?" The green-haired girl was wearing a necklace Hannon had never seen before. It was a silver, oval-shaped pendant necklace with a silver chain connected to each end of the oval. On the pendant were two small red stones, with a bright white stone in the center.

The white stone was so bright, it almost seemed like it was glowing.

Rina laid a finger on the silver pendant. "I found it in a shop last night while I was out with Hamasaki." She explained.

"Okay, but, why'd you get it?" Hannon asked. "Did Hamasaki give it to you?"

"No, I bought it for myself."

"Well, no offense, Rina, but, it's not exactly the prettiest thing…"

Rina scowled at Hannon. "I didn't buy it for looks." She then turned to Seira. "Did that one, Arella, did she tell you were the Heart Orbs might go?"

"No." Seira replied. "Why?"

Rina fiddled with the white stone for a moment, then held up a ball of white energy.

"That's a Heart Orb!" Seira exclaimed.

"Better go get the mirror." Rina told her.

Seira hurried up the stairs, heading for her room to get the mirror.

"That's odd." Lucia said. "It was in the necklace."

"Well, it makes it easier for us." Hannon pointed out.

Before either Lucia or Rina could reply, the door swung open, and Nikora entered the room. She paused, having heard something behind the door.

"Is someone back there?" Nikora asked, looking at the door.

"Just forget it." Hannon, her voice muffled by the door, replied.

* * *

"So, you're moving in?" Hannon asked Michael.

"Taki-san said it was alright if I did." Michael replied.

Hannon looked around the empty lobby. "Well, where's your stuff?"

Michael frowned. He was trying to finish another line of his song, and Hannon kept distracting him. He used the end of his pencil to point at his backpack. "In there."

Before Hannon could come up with another question, Nikora poked her head into the room. "Michael, could you come here for a moment? Taki-san would like to speak to you."

Michael set his pencil down and turned to follow Nikora into the other room.

This was the opportunity Hannon had been waiting for. As soon as Michael was out the door, she reached for his backpack.

"Hanon! What are you doing?" Hanon glanced behind her to see Rina and Lucia.

"I want to see something." Hanon replied. The front compartment of the backpack was partly open. Hanon opened the zipper further and dumped the contents out. "Maybe we can get another clue to what's going on. Michael may not even know he has more clues to this whole thing."

Hanon began sorting through the stuff. There was an instrument case, "I think we all know what's in that." She said as she set it aside.

There was also a music book, their school's lit book, a second note book, a pencil case, and a coin purse containing 32 dollars in Yen.

"No clues here." Hanon decided.

"What are you doing?"

Lucia and Rina both sweatdropped. "Look, Michael, this isn't what you think it is."

Michael had returned from his talk with Madame Taki to find Hanon going through his stuff. "Just what is going on here?"

"Nothing…" Hanon quickly put everything back into the backpack, zipped it up, and handed it back to Michael. Then she turned and walked hurried away.

"What was that all about!?" Michael demanded.

Rina and Lucia stared after Hanon.

"If we figure it out, we'll let you know." Rina told him.

"Yeah." Lucia agreed. "But anyway, here." She handed a key to him. "Nikora said to give this to you. It's the key to your room."

"Thank you." Michael took the key, and headed for the stairs. _I think I'll go put my stuff away before someone decides to go through it again._

"This gets stranger and stranger." Rina said after Michael had left. "Hanon might have been on to something. But I think the only clue he has that he's not aware of is that flute. I'd love to get my hands on it and see if it can transform into a whip or a bow."

Lucia nodded. "In the meantime, I guess all we can do is keep looking for those Heart Orbs."

_We're not enemies anymore, Michel. But somehow you got back to Earth. Who are the Dark Ones? And why are they after you?_

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** So many questions, Lucia has. Good thing those'll be answered in a future chapter. Anyway, I have no notes this time, other than that I hope the chapter wasn't too boring.

Please Review, and I'll see y'all next time.


	5. Seira's Song

**Kyrie**

**Chapter 5: Seira's Song**

* * *

One of the nicer things about living at the Pearl Piari was electricity and running water. Michael waited for the last of the shampoo to rinse out of his hair, then turned the shower off.

He wrapped a towel around his waist then stepped out of the shower, then paused in front of the mirror as he caught his reflection.

"Well, I guess my hair isn't dyed." He said as he rubbed a strand of white hair. _It should have washed out by now._

He reached for the dark band laying next to the sink, and used it to pull his hair back into a ponytail, which he let lay on his back. He pushed the door to the bathroom open and stepped into his room.

He was pulling clothes from his dresser when he heard footsteps on the stairs. A moment later, the door to his room swung open and Seira burst in.

"Michael-kun! We were wondering…" Seira felt the heat creping up her cheeks as she realized Michael was not wearing anything other than the towel. "Sorry!" She slammed the door shut and went back down the stairs just as quickly as she'd gone up.

Michael shook his head and turned his attention back to getting dressed.

The downside to living in the Pearl Piari: Almost everyone in the building was crazy.

* * *

When Michael came downstairs a little later, dressed in his usual blue pants and long sleeved, white button down shirt, Nikora and Seira were the only ones down there. Seira was off dusting, and Nikora was working in the breakfast room, cleaning off the tables.

It was Sunday, and Lucia, Hannon and Rina were out with their boyfriends.

Seira made a point not to look at Michael as he picked up a sweet roll and headed for the check in desk. So, Michael decided to stop and talk to her.

"Do you want to tell what you burst into my room earlier for?" He asked.

Seira looked at the floor. "Sorry. It-it wasn't important."

Michael considered it and decided to accept. "Well, do me a favor."

Seira looked up at him, wondering what he would ask.

"Knock next time." With that, Michael turned and walked over to the reservation desk.

* * *

"Oh please Nikora-san, can't I go?"

The clock was starting to push past one in the afternoon. It had been a very quiet day thus far in the Piari. Michael scribbled down another line of _Tsubasa wo Daite_ and stopped to hum it out under his breath. That line was right. He moved on the next one, and was halfway through it when he heard Seira and Nikora talking.

"Please, Nikora-san, can I go?"

"Seira, I really think you should have someone go with you."

Michael had no more turned his attention back to his song, then he realized someone was standing next to the reservations desk. It was Nikora.

"Nikora-san?" Michael asked.

The purple-haired woman sighed. "Michael I hate to ask this, but would it be possible for you to take Seira shopping?"

Michael gave her a confused look.

"We need some more supplies for the Piari, and Seira would like to go get them." Nikora explained. "But I don't want her going alone. Would you be willing to go with her?"

"Alright. Just give me a minute to put this stuff away."

"Thank you, Michael." Nikora told him. "I'll give Seira a list of what we need and some money."

* * *

It was a beautiful day to outside, and the trip to town didn't take very long. Neither did the shopping. Michael mostly supervised while Seira picked out the items on the list Nikora had given her.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly as the left the store and headed back towards the Piari.

"Thanks for coming with me, Michael-kun." Seira told him as they headed down the sidewalk.

"It's alright, I liked the break." He told her.

Seira was about to reply when she noticed something. A sneering, yellow-eyed creature that had tried to disguise itself as a human and had failed. No one seemed to have noticed it. Seira stifled a gasp as she saw it was holding a ball of yellow energy.

"Umm… excuse me for a moment!" She blurted out to Michael, then quickly darted away through the crowd.

"What! Seira, wait!" Michael called after her, but Seira was already gone. Dangit, He thought to himself as he took off after her.

--

"Orange Pearl Voice!"

Clutching her microphone tightly, Seira chased after the dark creature, dodging under and around people so as not to lose it.

'Sorry," She called back towards a pedestrian, then resumed the chase.

Finally the creature darted into an alley, and without hesitation, Seira darted after it.

The humanoid creature growled low in its throat to find out the alley was a dead end. Irritated, the creature turned to head back the way it had come, only to find Seira standing there.

"Finally, you can't run anymore!!" Seira told it. "Pichi Pichi Voice Live Start!" She exclaimed, then began singing.

"_I wake up, hearing my name in someone's voice. _

_Floating above the blue waves within the sea's cradle _

_I dreamt._

_Somewhere in this sea, someone's speaking in an arguing voice. _

_From a crying heart, love can't be born. _

_Only sadness overflows..._

…_Was the world being born what called me...? _

_At the bottom of the deep sea, I could hear a voice. _

_No matter how dark, or painful place I'm in... _

_From the fragments of a beautiful wish of the sea, _

_There are feelings of wanting to be born, opening away from the darkness. _

_Also in the purple sea, blending into the morning glow _

_my wishes broke through. _

_Some day, the source of all fights and sadness _

_will all vanish. That day will come. _

_I want to sing with a singular love... in the blue sea... _

_Someone sweetly spoke out my name. _

_So they would know of my wish._

The creature held its hands over its ears as it shrieked in annoyance.

"Would you like an encore?" Seira asked as she extended a hand to it.

In response, the creature shrieked again, then vanished away, leaving only a yellow orb of energy behind. Seira pulled out the Heart Mirror, and the Power Orb was sucked inside of it.

"Two white Orbs, Two Yellow Orbs." Seira mused as she put the mirror away. "We just have to find eight more Orbs, then all of Michael's memories can come back." She de-transformed, tucked the mirror away, and then headed back out of the alley.

She looked around the street, wondering what to do now, when suddenly she heard her name.

"Seira!" It was Michael, still out of breath from running. "There you are." He said as he grabbed her hand. "What did you think you were doing?"

"Umm… I thought I saw Lucia, and I wanted to talk to her." Seira replied.

"Isn't she coming back to the Pearl Piari tonight?" Michael asked.

"We think so."

"Then wouldn't it make more sense to wait and talk to her tonight?"

"Umm…"

Michael shook his head. "C'mon." He said. "Let's get going."

* * *

"I feel as though I am being consistently spied on, though I have no idea why."

"Hmm…" Kaito considered the playing card in his hand before he slapped down on the table. "Eight of Diamonds." He said, then replied. "Sounds like they're stalking you to me."

Michael considered the cards in his cardholder before selecting a ten of diamonds and slapping down on top of Kaito's eight. "Ten trumps eight." He announced, before he swiped the pair of cards.

"I would recommend either getting a restraining order, or finding a different place to live." Kaito said as he considered his options. A king was a difficult card to trump. He through the king of hearts out on the table, only to have Michael throw an A of Spades down on top of it.

"Dangit, how do you keep doing that?" Kaito demanded.

"I thought to point of the game was to beat your opponent's cards." Michael replied as he claimed the pair of cards.

"Well it is, but still." Kaito replied as he pulled out his next card.

"I rather like were I live. It makes doing my job real easy." Michael said as he glanced at the card. It was another A card. "Fold." He announced.

Kaito threw the A card off to the side, and waited for Michael to play the next card.

"They look like they're having fun." Hannon muttered to Lucia and Seira. The three of them were watching from behind a convenient wall as the two guys played their card game in the dining room of the Piari.

"Yeah." Lucia replied. "They seem to like that game a lot."

Kaito pulled out another card and looked it, then smiled and set it down. "Six beats four." He announced, then glanced over to where the mermaids were hiding. "Are you enjoying watching us? You know, you'd have a better view if you can over here."

"You see what I mean?" Michael asked as he threw another card down.

"Yep. You're what, the only guy in the whole building, barring the guests? And you're being stalked by a group of girls? I don't know if I should be empathic or jealous."

Michael's glare informed him that empathy would be more welcome than jealousy.

Kaito laughed, and Michael felt his ire rising. "Would you all please explain to me what's going on here? It's like you all know something about me that I don't."

Kaito stopped laughing, and decided to be honest. "Yes, we do know something about you – we know a lot about you. The question is how much we should tell you."

"Why?" It was more of a demand than a question.

"For your own protection." Kaito replied. "You think that something must have happened to you to cause you to lose your memories, and that, from what I know, is correct. Something did happen to you, but it was done to you for your protection."

"Kaito, what are you doing?" Lucia shouted at him. "Don't tell Michael that!"

The Panthalassa leaned back in his chair. "Lucia, I think he has a right to know."

If Michael had heard Lucia, he was making a point to ignore her. "So someone took away my memories, on purpose, to protect me. Protect me from what?"

"I can't tell you that." Kaito replied.

"I understand." Michael stood up. "Would you excuse me, please?" Michael turned and headed for the stairs.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Lucia came over and asked Kaito, "Why did you tell him that?"

"You ever lose your memory?" Kaito asked. "It can be torture if you don't even remember why you lost your memory, much less remember what you forgot. Besides, since whatever going on concerns him directly, don't you think he should at least know why he can't remember anything?"

Lucia thought it over for a moment. "I hope your idea doesn't backfire."

"I doubt it." Kaito said as he slid the playing cards back into the box. "Well, I gotta get going. See you tomorrow at school, Lucia."

* * *

"Master!"

The king of the Dark Ones growled slightly as he turned to face his underling. "What is it?" He demanded.

"Master, two of our monsters where attacked, and the Heart Orbs they found were taken away!"

"What?"

"It's true!" The underling insisted.

"How were they defeated?"

"We don't know."

The Dark King scowled. "Then you'd better go find out." He said threateningly.

"Yes, master."

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Ah, yes, the Dark King has no mercy on his underlings. Michael at least gets a clue to what's going on, and why he can't remember anything. Seira's song is _Beautiful Wish_, by the way.

Now, you may have noticed when talking about Michael in his human for, I added that 'a.' This was supposed to be better then using Michel, which drives me up a wall. (If you wanted it to be one letter different from Michal's why didn't you just add an 'e'?) But anyway, that was more confusing, so I might have to fix that later on.

Anyway, enjoy the fic, please review, and I'll see you next time.


	6. Secrets in Mirrors

**Kyrie **

**Chapter 6: Secrets in Mirrors**

* * *

The door swung open, slamming into the wall behind it. Ojii-san, his wife, and his assistant looked up as Arella stormed into the room.

"How could you do this?" She nearly shouted at Ojii-san. "How could you do this to Michel?"

"Arella-chan," His assistant began, but Arella cut him off. "Don't 'Arella-chan' me." She spat. "I came here for answers and I'm not leaving until I get them!"

"Arella, I could not allow the Dark Ones to take Michel away." Ojii-san said, "Nor could I allow all of us to be attacked by the Dark Ones, in which case they would have taken Michel regardless."

"So you took away his powers and sent him back to Earth, then sent me to explain to the Mermaid Princesses what had happened to him, so they could clean up the mess." Arella said. "Why didn't you just explain to Michel the truth about the Dark Ones?"

"The Dark Ones were never supposed to escape their imprisonment." Ojii-san replied. "I saw no reason to tell him about them. Now, Arella, is there anything else you need?"

"Yes." Arella retorted. "I gave the mirror to the Princesses, who are now hunting for the Heart Orbs. But I think you deserve to know that as soon as they finish collecting the Heart Orbs, they are going to give that mirror to Michel, and we both know what will happen when that happens. What are you going to do then?"

* * *

"… And then I defeated the monster by singing _Beautiful Wish_, and got another Heart Orb." Seira finished.

"The Heart Mirror is in your backpack, isn't it?" Hanon asked her.

"Uh-huh." Seira replied.

"This so odd." Lucia said. "Why is there all this secrecy?"

Lucia, Hanon, Rina and Seira were heading back to the Pearl Piari after another day of school. As they walked, they discussed the monster Seira had fought.

"It is unusual." Rina finally spoke up. "I guess if that girl Seira got the mirror from shows up again, we'd better make sure to get some answers out of her."

The four of them turned onto the path that led to the front door of the Piari.

"Here we are; home sweet home." Lucia said. "I wonder if Kaito will come over today."

"Lucia! Is that all you ever think about?" Hanon asked.

"No." Lucia protested. "I think about other things." She said as the three of them entered the building.

"Michael's not here yet. I wonder if he's upstairs." Hanon said as she looked at the empty reservations desk.

"Lucia, I'm glad to see you're back." Nikora said as she came out of the breakfast room. "Would the four of you come here, please? There's someone here who'd like to see you."

The four of them followed Nikora into the breakfast room. Sitting at one of the tables was a girl in a short black-and-gold dress. Her hair was black, with a star clip one side, and her eyes were gold.

"Arella!" Seira exclaimed.

"Hello Seira-sama." Arella said.

"Wait, Arella?" Hanon asked.

Seira nodded excitedly. "She was the one who gave me the Heart Mirror."

"Arella-san, why is Michel back on Earth?" Rina asked.

"So he could escape the Dark Ones."

"And they are?" Lucia asked.

"Our age-old enemies." Arella said with a sigh. "Our king, Michel-Dono (he was the one whose fossil you destroyed, remember?) defeated them the first time they tried to attack us, and banished them away. But that was so long ago, even before I was born. Anyway, somehow they got free, and attacked our castle."

"Why?" Hanon asked.

"They were angry, and wanted to take out their angry on the one who defeated and banished them. But Michel-Dono was already dead, so they decided to go after Michel instead." Arella explained. She stood up.

"Anyway, I can't stay here. In case the Dark Ones are tracking me, they might get suspicious."

"Why would they be tracking you?" Seira asked.

Arella gave dim smile. "They would try anything they could think of to find Michel."

"Then why did you come back here?"

Arella pulled out a yellow ball of light. "I found another one."

Seira set her schoolbag down and dug through it, then pulled out the Heart Mirror. "Now we have five Heart Orbs." She said as they watched it enter one of the slot on the mirror.

"Seven to go." Arella said as she stood up. "Anyway, I have to leave." Please keep Michel safe for us, Mermaid Princess-samas."

After Arella had left, Seira turned to the others. "Now do you believe me?" She asked.

"We never said we doubted you, Seira." Hanon said.

"Come on." Rina said. "Let's get to work."

The four of them left the room and nearly ran into Nikora. "Ah, Lucia." She said. "Did you talk to Arella-san?"

"We did." Lucia replied.

"Where's Michael?" Seira wanted to know.

"I sent him upstairs." Nikora replied. "He didn't look like he was in any shape to work, so I told him to go take a nap."

Rina turned to Lucia and Seira. "A nap?" She asked.

"You didn't see him today?" Lucia asked. "He looked like he didn't get any sleep at all last night."

"That's being polite," Hanon spoke up. "He looked like a zombie."

"Anyway, it's generally not good for business if your registrar falls asleep at his post, so I told him go get some sleep and come back when he was capable of staying awake." Nikora continued.

"Now that you mention it, he did seem to be rather tired during class today." Rina said.

"Anyway, Lucia, Seira, Hanon, it's time for you to get to work." Nikora said.

* * *

_A strange white bird, with the head of a human…_

_A girl dressed in pink, with long blond pigtails…_

_A human man, with dark gray hair_

_Another girl with a microphone, this one dressed in blue…_

Michael, sound asleep, rolled over and let out a moan. So many images, filtering through his head…

_Another Mermaid-girl… how was he sure they were mermaids? This one was in a green dress, with long green hair… just like Rina…_

_A little orange mermaid…._

"Seira…" Michael muttered.

_How did he know her name...?_

Michael jerked awake, trying to slow his rapid breathing. "What is happening to me?" He moaned as he put his fingers to his forehead.

Mermaids. Could it be possible that Rina and Seira were actually mermaids?

"No." Michael said to himself as he stood up and headed toward the window. "I know they're mermaids. But how do I know?"

He didn't know for sure, but he knew how to find out. The clock said it was only late afternoon. He headed downstairs, finding the others out in the courtyard.

"Ah, Michael," Taki said as she watched him walk towards the group. "You're looking better."

"Did you need something?" Nikora asked.

Michael stood there, alternating between looking at Seira and looking at Rina.

"Something wrong?" Rina asked him a moment later.

A moment later, he answered the question. "You and Seira are mermaids."

If Michael had had any doubts about their true identities, it was erased when he saw Rina's face a moment after that announcement. Her look was one of stunned disbelief.

"Then it's true." He said. "The two of you are mermaids."

Seira, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic. "You do remember!"

Michael shook his head. "No. I don't know how I know that. It's just what I keep seeing in my dreams." He confessed.

Lucia turned and noticed something. Seira's schoolbag was starting to glow. She grabbed the somewhat disappointed girl and carefully pointed out the bag.

Madame Taki also noticed the glow, and deduced the girls needed to leave. "Anyway, we decided to take the afternoon off. The girls were going to go out shopping."

"We were?" Hanon asked.

"Yeah, we were." Seira said as she grabbed her bag and followed Lucia, who was escorting Rina and Hanon out.

Michael watched as they hurried towards the front of the building. "Was Seira's bag glowing?" He asked.

"Umm, ah," Nikora paused, trying to think of a good excuse.

"No." Taki replied, calm as ever. "You just thought it was glowing."

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Yes, I know this is kind of a dud ending, but this chapter was designed to springboard me into chapter seven, so that's why it's got a weird ending. Anyway, as for the Ancient Ones, does anyone remember them from volume six? 'Cause the way I have it set up in this story, Ojii-san is the one in the middle, his wife is the woman standing to one side, and his assistant is standing on the other side. (You'd need the manga for that.)

Anyway, barring that, look forward to chapter seven coming... sometime soon. Hopefully. I don't really know when it's coming. Also, I'm keeping the 'a' in Michel's name when he's in human form. It's just easier that way.

Sorry I'm a bit rushed down here. Please R&R, and I'll see you next time.


	7. Road to Heaven

**Kyrie**

**Chapter 7: Road to Heaven**

* * *

_Come with me flyin'_

_Higher, give me more_

_It feels like riding_

_Faster than before_

_On the road,_

_The road to heaven._

-Kim Lian, from 'Road to Heaven'

* * *

"Isn't it a little impolite to run out on people?" Hanon asked as she followed Lucia and the others down the sidewalk.

"I'm sure Michael will understand." Lucia panted.

"Besides, the Mirror was glowing," Seira said. "We have to get the next Heart Orb."

"Come on," Rina spoke up. "Let's hurry."

* * *

_Find out who is defeating the monsters…_

The mammoth, black creature stretched above the trees, roaring menacingly. Its master had ordered it to learn what was attacking them. It would not fail its master.

Most of the humans were running away from it, but four of them were coming towards it. Could these be ones that were destroying its brethren?

A few feet away, the Dark King's servant watched and wondered what he was looking for. The King had ordered him to find out who was destroying the monsters. All the humans seemed alike to him, and he wondered how he was supposed to figure out which ones were the enemies.

"Pink Pearl Voice!"

"Aquamarine Pearl Voice!"

"Green Pearl Voice!"

"Orange Pearl Voice!"

The servant watched, intrigued as the four humans transformed. Pearl Voice? The only creatures in the world who could become Pearl Voices were mermaids. Had the Ancient Ones involved the Mermaid Princesses in the battle?

* * *

Meanwhile, as Lucia and the others had headed for the battle, Kaito had headed for the Pearl Piari.

He headed up the front walk and pushed open the door of the building. No one was inside the room except for Michael.

"Michael, have you seen Lucia?" Kaito asked.

"She and others went out, supposedly to go shopping." Michael replied. "Apparently, everyone's taken the afternoon off."

"That's odd. Usually Nikora reads them the riot act if they try and do that."

"It was Taki-san's idea."

Kaito shrugged. "Oh, well, I guess I'll go see what Lucia's up to. You wanna come with me?"

"Sure." Michael replied. "It's not like I have anything else to be doing."

And with that, the two of them set off to find Lucia and the others.

* * *

The Heart Mirror wasn't glowing any brighter, but then again, it wasn't glowing any softer.

"I can't tell where the Heart Orb is." Seira said as she looked at the mirror.

"We'll find it later." Rina told her. "Right now we have bigger things to worry about."

The monster behind them roared angrily.

"Pink Pearl Voice!"

"Aquamarine Pearl Voice!"

"Green Pearl Voice!"

"Orange Pearl Voice!"

The monster roared again. Lucia clutched her microphone tighter. _Kaito, I'm worried. I wish you were here with me now. Kaito._

--

_Kaito._ A few miles away from the park, Kaito started as he heard Lucia's voice. "Lucia?"

Lucia needed him, Kaito was certain. "Lucia!" He shouted as he took off running. "Lucia!"

_Did I miss something?_ Michael wondered as he stared after Kaito. Then he decided to follow him. Perhaps Kaito was onto something.

Kaito didn't stop running until he reached the park. He darted in through the gate and glanced around, trying to figure out where Lucia was at. A huge, dark monster roared. That was where Lucia was, he was certain. "Lucia!" He shouted as he took off across the park.

Michael paused for a moment to catch his breath as he reached the gates of the park. Kaito seemed certain Lucia was here. A roar caught his attention, and he looked up to see a giant, dark monster attacking people.

"What is that thing?" He wondered as he took a step back. Then something else caught his eye.

It was a small glowing ball of white energy. It felt familiar to him, somehow. He held his hands out to it, and it flew over to him and landed in his hands. A moment after it landed in his hands, it began a blinding, white glow.

The light began to surround him, and the orb of light absorbed itself into his chest.

A moment later, amid a flurry of white feathers, a single pair of large, white wings burst out of his back.

The four Mermaid Princesses had barely been able to start their song before the creature had lashed out at them and sent them flying.

"Kyaaaaa!" Seira screamed as she was sent flying. But before she could hit the ground, someone caught her.

"Kaito?" Seira asked as she opened her eyes. It wasn't Kaito, though.

"Michael!" She gasped. He was still in his human form, but he had wings now. He turned and flew back to where the mermaids were regrouping, and set Seira down.

If Seira had been shocked by seeing Michael with wings, then the other mermaids and Kaito were even more astounded.

"Michael?" Hanon asked. "How did you get those wings?"

"You're another mermaid." He told Hanon. "I can tell from your voice."

"How did you get those wings?" Hanon persisted.

"A little ball of energy." He replied. "It was what gave me wings."

Rina and Lucia looked at each other, almost reading each other's minds. _Heart Orb_.

A roar from the creature called everyone's attention back to the matter at hand.

"We can't stop this thing." Lucia told Kaito. "Every time we try to start our Pichi Concert, that thing sends us flying."

"I can distract it." Michael told them.

"No, you can't do that!" Seira told him.

"Why not?" Michael wanted to know.

No one replied.

"Don't worry, Seira." Michael said. "Just sing. I'll be fine." He turned and flew away, up towards the monster.

"We can't tell him why he can't fight this thing, so we'd better do what he says and start singing." Rina told them.

"I guess you're right." Lucia said. "Let's go, everyone!"

"Pichi Pichi Voice Live Start!"

* * *

The Dark King's servant watched as Michael flew up towards the monster, effectively distracting it from the Pichi mermaids who had begun their song.

This human had wings, he realized. Wings just like the Ancient Ones…

On the ground, the Pearl Voices had begun singing.

_The tears that hurt so much overflow in the nightly depths of the sea.  
But as I stretch my hand across the glass surface of the water, light reaches them._

This was interesting, he realized as slunk back into the darkness of his hiding place. At least he knew who was defeating the monsters.

_The only things I can see can only hear my voice.  
Realize the fact that it's not everything.  
The things I can believe have all increased by one, and now I can become stronger.  
After being hurt, I'm shining again and feel our invincible bonds.  
_

The monster did not appreciate the mermaids singing down near its feet. It turned towards them, growling low in its throat. The song was starting to hurt it, and it didn't like that.

Before it could move attack the mermaids, its attention was distracted by the winged creature flying around its head.

_It isn't someone, it has to be you.  
Through all the pain, I still pursue to increase them.  
If miracles overlap over one another, it would seem like they could change fate.  
Throwing away all doubts and darkness,  
I believe in our strong bonds._

Michael darted out of the way as the monster swung an arm out at him. Flying came naturally to him; almost as naturally as playing his flute did, though he didn't understand how he was able to do either. He twisted around and landed crouched on the side of a building, only to dart out and take flight again a moment later, leaving the monster nothing to grab but a few white feathers that had fallen off his wings.

_Anxiety and loneliness all are born from the shadow of your own weakness.  
But don't look away from it; you can face it without running away.  
The things that make your hand waver and the sicknesses you feel  
aren't real problems. Remember that. _

Kaito waited next to the Mermaid princesses, his sigil glowing. If the monster attempted to attack the mermaids, he would be ready.

But so far, it appeared unlikely he would need to join the fray. The creature was now writhing, and had even given up on chasing Michael

_You should know the meaning of supporting oneself, so become stronger now.  
Money alone can't buy our eternal bound bonds with one another.  
No matter where you are, our melody will reach you  
and you won't be alone._

Michael flew back down and landed next to Kaito. "I believe this fight is almost over."

Kaito smirked. "So is the song."

_After being hurt, I'm shining again and feel our invincible bonds.  
It isn't someone, it has to be you.  
Through all the pain, I still pursue to increase them.  
If miracles overlap over one another, it would seem like they could change fate.  
Throwing away all doubts and darkness,  
I believe in our strong bonds._

"Love Shower, Pitch!"

The creature let out a shriek.

"Would you like an encore?" Lucia asked.

In response, the creature turned to dust and blew away on the wind.

"These monsters are getting stronger." Rina said. "Whoever is sending them knows something is up."

"Is that what you're all always running off to do?" Michael asked. "Fight monsters?"

Before anyone else could come up with a reply, Hanon spoke up. "Yep. It comes with the territory of being a Mermaid Princess."

There was a momentary pause, than Seira spoke up. "Michael! You got your wings back!"

"That might be a problem…" Kaito pointed out.

"How?" Michael wanted to know.

"Well, most humans don't have wings."

"Can't you get rid of them?" Hanon asked him. "You know, make go away, like how we transform and de-transform?"

"I'm not even sure how I got these wings." Michael pointed. "What was that ball of light, anyway?"

No one answered, which immediately alerted Michael that something was up.

"All of you know what that ball of light was, don't you? But you won't tell me, because I'm not supposed to know, yes?" He asked.

Still no answer.

"Oh my word."

"Look, you should not be out in public with those wings." Kaito pointed out.

"Kaito's right." Lucia suddenly realized. "We'd better get back to the Pearl Piari right away!"

* * *

At the Pearl Piari, Nikora was checking a customer out. Even though the girls had gotten the day off, there was still work to do.

She was almost done checking the customer out when the door opened and Lucia poked her head in. "Okay, coast is clear." The rest of the mermaids and Michael followed her inside a moment later.

And no sooner had they come inside then they all realized something: Lucia had been wrong. Nikora was frowning at Lucia, and the customer was looking at Michael.

"Umm… we were just … going upstairs!" Lucia blurted out, then grabbed Michael and fairly shoved him up the stairs, not stopping until they had reached Michael's room.

"Did that young man have wings?" The customer wanted to know.

Rina, Hanon and Seira sweatdropped. "No. Not at all." Hanon replied. "You just thought he had wings."

"Really?" The man asked. "Then how do you explain the white feathers all over the stairs?"

Now the three of them looked even more nervous. "Umm… uhh… those were cosplay wings. We're getting ready for a convention coming up, and we're keeping it a secret so we can win first place." Hanon said.

The man looked unconvinced.

"Uh, we'll go, get a broom, and, clean up those feathers." Rina said, and the three of them made a hasty exit

The customer shook his head, took his receipt, and headed for the door.

Meanwhile, Lucia leaned against the door of Michael's room, exhausted in her relief. Michael was safely on the inside, away from the rest of the world, where no one could see his wings. Now on to the next problem: finding a way to hide those wings.

Inside the room, Michael picked himself up off the floor, and wondered if being a mermaid also meant being slightly crazy.

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** And so it begins...to fall apart. I can't wait to see what happens next. :3

Yeah, I know: "T.A.R.N.S.! Aren't you the one writing the story?" Yes I am. But I can look forward to the next chapter as much as the next person. Alright, what notes do I have for this time? Hmm, the song the mermaids sang is Kizuna. I think I shortened it, though. Also, if you re-read this story, which I have done several times now, you will notice that I said Arella has two pairs of wings. My bad. She was only supposed to have one pair of wings. I have conulted volume six of the manga and it appears that all the other Ancient Ones have only one pair of wings. Therefore, Arella should only have one pair. Only Michel should have four wings (two pairs). Someday I'll have to go back and fix that.

I wish there were more stories out there about Michel. (Sighes) Oh well. Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought! Happy Halloween!


	8. Return to the Sea

**Kyrie**

**Chapter 8: Return to the Sea**

**[Author's Note: **Long chapter, brace yourselves. This one consists mostly of plot development for the new story arc. The first arc is over and the second is about to begin.]

* * *

It almost went without saying the Michael would not be able to go to school – or anywhere else, for that matter – until someone could come up with a suitable way to hide his wings.

Complicating the problem was the fact that the Piari was a guesthouse, and it wouldn't do to have a guest see Michael's wings either.

Rina tapped on the door to Michael's room, and let herself in when no one answered. The coast was finally clear, and he could come downstairs and get some breakfast. But he was no where to be seen in his room.

_Now where could he have gone off too?_ Rina wondered. She paused for a moment, then shrugged and turned to leave. She could see if he was back in a few minutes.

* * *

With a swoop of his wings, Michael pushed himself up higher in the air. From his vantage point in the sky, the town looked like playthings. After riding the air currents for a few more minutes, he turned and swung back towards the Pearl Piari.

No one seemed to be around as he glided back towards the building. He flew back to the balcony outside his room and landed on it, then let himself back into the building.

He had barely entered his room when there was a knock on the door. "Enter," He called, and Rina popped her head into the room.

"The coast is clear," She told him. "You can come down and eat."

Michael nodded and followed her out the door.

In the dining room of the Pearl Piari, Madame Taki and Nikora were enjoying a second cup of coffee, while Lucia, Hanon, and Seira finished breakfast.

"So, how are we going to hide Michael's wings?" Hannon asked as she shoved her last bite of food into her mouth.

"I have no idea." Lucia moaned.

Hanon turned to look at Seira.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" The little girl cried.

"Well, it was your idea that we help Michael, so I think you should have some idea of what to do now."

"Well, I don't." Seira said.

"Ah. Well, maybe I can help." Madame Taki spoke up.

"Really?" Lucia asked.

"How?" Seira wanted to know.

"Not right now." Taki replied. "I need more time to think about it."

Rina and Michael entered the room a moment later. Michel went to get himself some food, and Rina came over and sat down with the others. "So anyone come up with any ideas while I was gone?"

"Just Taki, but she won't tell us what it is." Lucia replied.

Michael was headed towards the table where the others sat when the front door behind him opened, and Lucia suddenly hit him from behind, shoving him into a closet and shutting the door behind him.

She smiled nervously at the guest who'd just walked in, who continued over to the check in desk. Nikora excused herself and went to go check the guest in.

As soon as the guest was gone, Lucia stepped away from the closet, allowing Michael to literally fall out of it and to the floor. The closet was barely big enough to hold a person, much less a person with wings.

"On second thought," Michael said as he stood up and brushed the remainder of his breakfast off his clothes. "I'm not that hungry. I think I'll go back upstairs."

With that, he turned and headed back upstairs.

* * *

Outside the Pearl Piari, sitting on the branch of a tree, an ethereal spirit had watched Michael landed on the balcony and went inside.

The specter leaned back against the trunk of the tree and stretched his legs out on the branch. _"And so it begins."_ He said, mostly to himself. _"I'm sure after that battle yesterday, the Dark King is already planning his next move. And it'll be a big one."_

The specter stood up. _"Perhaps it's time I make a few moves of my own."_ And with that, he opened his wings and flew off.

* * *

"You'd better have learned something this time." The Dark King said as he glared at his underling.

"Master, the monster was defeated by a group of mermaids." The servant replied.

The Dark King laughed. "And how do mermaids move about on land? Do they swim through the air like through water?"

"There were four Pearl Voices."

"Four?" The master asked. Then his eyes narrowed. "We'll have to get a look inside their minds. It seems the Ancient Ones have brought the Mermaids into this battle."

"Master," The underling spoke up hesitantly. "There's something else."

Again, the Dark King glared at his underling. "What is it?" He asked, his voice low and threatening.

"Umm," The underling began uncertainly. "There was human there, with the mermaids. He had wings just like the Ancient Ones do, but he only had one pair."

The Dark King's eyes glittered. "Another winged one, eh? Well, what do you know."

* * *

Hanon sat in the front yard of the schoolhouse, watching the people who from time to time walked passed it.

"What are you doing, Hanon? Lunch hour is almost over."

The blue mermaid turned to look at her friend. "I'm just watching the people go by." She said as she turned back towards the road. "If we're princesses, why do we have to-" She suddenly stopped as she saw a familiar figure go walking by.

Hanon jumped up and darted after the figure. "Come on, Rina! She's right out there!"

"Wait, Hanon!" Rina called as she glanced behind her to see if anyone was watching. "What are you doing?" She called as she followed the other girl.

But the blue mermaid didn't stop or look back. For two blocks she ran, darting through and around people until she'd caught up with her quarry. Without any hesitation, she jumped on the black-haired girl, dragging her to the ground.

"Hey, do you mind?!"

Rina caught up with them a moment later, and shook her head when she saw who it was Hanon had jumped on. "Hello Arella."

"Hello, Princess-samas." She glared at Hanon. "Will you please let me up?"

Hanon obliged, and Rina reached out a hand to pull Arella to her feet.

"So Arella, how did you make your wings go away?" Hanon asked.

It was then that Rina noticed Arella's black wings were gone, making her look considerably more human.

The other girl shrugged. "It's just something I can do. Why?"

"Because Michael has wings now, and we need to make those go away."

"Michael has _what_?! How did that happen?!"

"He found a Heart Orb before we could get to it." Rina answered.

"Oh, no." Arella sighed. She pulled the star clip out of her hair, allowing it to expand to its true form; a long scepter with that same star, now larger on the top. "Would you mind if we went somewhere else to discuss this?"

Hanon looked at Rina, then they both shook their heads.

Arella slammed her scepter against the ground, and a moment later all three of them were standing on a deserted lane a ways away.

"How did you do that?" Hanon asked.

"It's something else I can do." Arella said. She began to chew her bottom lip. "Michael found one of the orbs. That is bad, very bad."

"What happens if he gets anymore of the Orbs?" Hanon asked.

"You've seen what happens." Arella replied. "Michael just gets his powers and memories back. It must have been one of the Power Orbs." _At least we're not completely unlucky. It could have been worse. It could have been a Memory Orb._

"What are we going to do about Michael's wings?" Rina asked.

"Don't know." Arella shook her head. "To hide those, you have to understand your powers."

Rina sighed. "And let me guess: Michael needs his memories for that."

Arella nodded.

Now it was Hanon's turn to sigh. "It's never easy, is it?"

"No." Arella looked up at the sky. "I suppose I should go tell Ojii-san about this new development." She said, looking somewhat disheartened. "Thanks for telling me."

"We'll keep working on things on this end." Rina said.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Arella said as she lifted off the ground. Then a thought occurred to her, and she grinned. "And I'm sure Michel will too, though he has no idea what's going on at the moment." With that, she turned and flew away.

* * *

_It had once been some kind of undersea kingdom, but was now lying in ruins. He was turning now, heading away from the kingdom._

_Then he saw her. She was tall and slender, with the same orange hair and eyes Seira had._

"_What you are seeking will be found underwater." She told him._

"_Wait! What do you mean?" He called after her. _

"_You'll understand. Eventually. The orange-haired girl had faded, and in her place was a man wearing a long black coat and ruby necklace. His eyes were red, and his hair was gray._

"_Trust us. We've seen everything that happened." The gray-haired man said. "When Lucia and her friends get back from school, tell them that the next piece of their puzzle is under the sea."_

"_Wait! Who are you?!" He called, but they were already gone._

Michael jerked awake and sat up, struggling to catch his breath. Still breathing heavily, he dropped back onto his pillow and absently brushed some loose feathers off his bed.

What was wrong with him, anyway? Until he'd come here, nothing like this had ever happened to him. At least, nothing that he could remember.

He laid there for a while longer, dozing, finally waking up when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." He called.

Seira opened the door a moment later. "Michael-kun, we're back."

"Seira…"

"Is something wrong?" The young mermaid asked.

"Do you know an orange-haired woman who lives underwater in a ruined kingdom?"

Now Seira was on the alert. "Yes! What did she say?"

"That what you're seeking will be found underwater."

_A Heart Orb? Underwater?_ "Thanks Michel. I have to go talk to Lucia." With that, Seira turned and hurried back out the door.

* * *

"Lucia, Lucia, Lucia!!" The blond mermaid had been in the foyer, talking to Nikora, when Seira came racing up.

"Lucia! Michel said that Sara told him the next Heart Orb is underwater!"

"What? Where?" Lucia asked.

Seira paused. "I don't know. He didn't say. Just that there was an orange-haired woman living underwater in a ruined kingdom."

"That's Sara, alright," Hanon, who had come over in time to hear Seira's last statement, spoke up. "Looks like we're going to return to the sea."

"Alright. Let's get Rina and get going." Lucia said.

"Where are you going?" Kaito asked.

"Kaito? Where did you come from?" Lucia asked.

"Well, I was coming over to see if you could sneak away," Nikora frowned at this, "And go to the beach with me. But it looks like you've got other plans."

"You should come with us, Kaito." Hanon told him. "We might need your help."

"I have some stuff to take care of first, but I'll follow you guys later, that's for sure." Kaito said with a smirk. Without another word to either of them he turned and headed away.

Seira turned back to Lucia and Hannon as soon as Kaito was gone. "Can we go get the next Heart Orb now?" She pleaded.

"Well, we'll have to stop and get Rina, but let's go! Come on, Hanon!" Lucia said as she turned and raced for the door, followed closely by Seira and Hanon.

"And just where do you three think you're going?" Nikora, who had come into the room behind them, asked.

"There's another Heart Orb out in the ocean." Seira explained. "We have to go get it!"

Nikora sighed. "Fine. Go."

Seira didn't need to be told twice. She darted out the door, followed by the other two mermaids. "Thanks Nikora!" Lucia called back over her shoulder as she slammed the door shut behind her.

With a sigh, the older mermaid turned and went to find Madame Taki.

Seira, Lucia, and Hanon raced to Rina's house and quickly explained the situation, and less than half an hour later, all four mermaids were back in the ocean.

"A ruined kingdom." Hanon muttered as she and the others propelled themselves through the water. "That's gotta be the Indian Ocean. Do we know exactly where in the ocean?"

"No." Seira said as she followed Lucia.

"Now doesn't that just figure." Hanon muttered.

"I hope Kaito can catch up with us before we get to far away from Japan." Lucia worried.

"He'll be fine. He doesn't have to come everywhere with us, you know." Hanon said.

"Come on Hanon, that's not fair." Rina said. "You know how devoted Lucia is to Kaito."

The blonde mermaid blushed, but before she could retort, there was a resounding splash, and Kaito was there, his arm wrapped around Michael's neck, holding the other young man underwater.

"See, I told you you could breathe underwater." Kaito said, presumably to Michael.

"Kaito?" Lucia asked.

"Michael!" Seira said happily. "I didn't expect you to come."

"I didn't expect to come either." Michael replied as he jerked free from Kaito's grip. "Kaito was very…persuasive."

"I told you that you could breathe underwater." Kaito repeated, and Lucia noticed that he was wearing his prince's clothes. "Now, let's get to the Indian Ocean."

"Okay!" Seira said, then turned to Michael. "Follow me! I know how to get there."

Seira swam off and Michel followed, holding his wings open and using them to glide through the water, much like how he flew in the air.

The other mermaids hung back, waiting until Michael was out of hearing range, then they turned to Kaito.

"Kaito, what were you thinking?!" Lucia demanded.

"How could you bring Michael? Do you know what'll happen if he gets his hands on another Heart Orb?" Hanon asked.

To their surprise, instead of answering, Kaito closed his eyes and slumped forward, and to his left appeared a ghost of a very familiar figure.

"Gaito!?" Rina asked, her eyes wide.

He smiled at them. "I'm not sure how you'll keep Michael from getting another Heart Orb. But there are events occurring on land right now that make it unsafe for any of you to be there, especially him."

"Events? What are you talking about?" Hanon demanded.

"And how do you know what's been going on, anyway?" Lucia asked.

"Sara and I – we're always watching you. All of you. We saw everything that happened. We saw the battle with Michel, we saw what happened afterwards, and we've seen what's happening now. Besides, I was told about what was happening today from, well, let's call him a guardian angel." Gaito finished as he started to fade away. "There's work to be done princesses. The fate of the planet is in your hands, again."

Kaito was alert again a moment later. He glanced around. "Lucia…how did I get here?"

"We'll explain on the way to Indian Ocean." Lucia said as she turned away, calling as she **did**, "Hey Seira! Michael! Wait up!"

Back on land, at the Pearl Pairi Madame Taki was sitting at one of the tables in the dining room with her crystal ball in front of her, Nikora hovering worriedly over her shoulder.

"There's something going on, but I can't tell what." Taki frowned as she looked at the orb. "Whatever it is, it's affecting the whole city."

"What do we do?" Nikora asked.

"There! It's some kind of psychic sweep!" Taki continued. "I can protect the both us from it, but there's no way I can stop it."

"I'm glad everyone else has left." Nikora muttered.

Far away from the Pearl Piari, the Dark King sat on his throne, his eyes closed, in deep concentration. A massive mind reading like the one he was performing took a lot of power, even for him.

In the area his servant had reported the mermaid sightings, there wasn't a trace of them to be found, and no one else in the city had seen them either. Nor was there any trace of a winged 'human', and no one else remembered seeing him either.

This might have meant that his servant was lying to him, but he doubted it. The servant knew that would be fatal, and besides, there was something that had caught his attention.

Two minds that he couldn't get inside of.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the sea, the group had come to the ruins of the country of the Indian Ocean.

"So, what do we do now?" Hanon asked.

"Umm… I don't know." Lucia replied.

"We can look around and see if we can find what we're here to get." Rina said decisively. She turned to Kaito and Michael. "You two should keep watch. We don't know what could be lurking around here."

Kaito and Michael headed away, and the four mermaids began looking around, trying to determine where the Heart Orb was mostly like hidden.

"It's good that you came."

All four of them looked up as a vision of Sara appeared in front of them.

"Sara!" They all exclaimed, Seira quite happily, but the others somewhat surprised.

"I have what you're looking for." Sara told them, holding up a yellow sphere.

"The Heart Orb!" Lucia exclaimed. Seira pulled out the mirror and held it up. Sara released the Heart Orb, and it flew over to the mirror and entered one of the yellow slots on the mirror.

"Sara, what did Gaito mean when he said the fate of the planet was in our hands?" Lucia asked.

"Exactly what he said." Sara replied. "There is trouble coming for all of you, Lucia. Be aware of that. Someday you'll understand everything. What you're doing when you try to help Michel is admirable, but by taking this path, you'll run into danger."

"But we have to help Michel!" Seira protested.

"I know that, better than even you do. But there will be danger. For Michel, and for all of you by extension." Sara finished as she started to fade away. "Remember this." Then she was gone.

"Hey, is something going on over here?" Kaito asked as he came back over, Michael not far behind him. "We heard a lot of talking."

"Everything's okay." Lucia said as she turned to face him. "We got what we need. Let's head back home now." She turned and began to swim away, the others following her.

Some three and a half hours later, the group finally pulled themselves out of the water and onto a beach in Japan.

"Well, that went surprisingly well." Hanon observed.

"Yes, it did." Rina echoed suspiciously. _I wonder where those monsters went._

"Did you all find what you were looking for, then?" Michael said as he stood up and flapped his wings, shaking the excess water off.

Hanon raised a hand to shield herself from the water. "Yes, we found what we were after and quit doing that! You're getting us all wet again."

"Anyway, let's get back to the Piari." Lucia said. "It's gotta be way past time to eat now, and I'm hungry."

"You're right." Kaito said as he stood up. "We should get going."

* * *

After much time spent trying, the Dark King had finally given up trying to reach inside the two missing minds and removed his mind sweep from the city.

Now he had decided to try a different method of ferreting out information. Something was going on in the town, and he wanted to know what it was.

He spoke to the dark creature kneeling in front of his throne. "Hudrun, I have a new task for you. You know what has happened with the Ancient Ones, I presume?"

"Of course, master." Hudrun replied.

"They have recreated their king, and I want that copy or whatever the creature is found and brought to me. Preferably alive," He added after a moment, knowing Hudrun's disposition to excessive force. "I have found the area I believe him to be hiding in, and I want you to go there and find him. He is disguised as a human, and by now may have regained a pair of his wings. Can you do this?"

The general smiled darkly. "Of course master. I promise I'll do my very best."

The king growled. "See that you do." He said by way of dismissal. "But be warned. The Ancients have involved the Mermaid Princesses in this battle, and though their power is insignificant, they may get in the way.

"I've never fought a mermaid before. This should be fun."

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Holy crap. We made it. Yes, it was very long, and nobody transformed or sang. Sorry 'bout that, but that's just how the chapter went. I got volume five of the manga today and decided to celebrate by updating.

Now, what notes do I need for this chapter...? The mysterious specter. I like this guy. I can't wait to introduce him for real. He isn't one of the characters we've already met in the story, he's someone different. Also, Arella's star charm/scepter. No, it's not just a hair decoration or a way to rip off more of Hanon's outfit. That thing actaully has a function. BTW, I'm sorry if I seem to be using Arella a bit much. I know nothing about the Ancient Ones, at least other then Michel, and it makes this story a little difficult to write. You may have also noticed I had some troulbe with Michel's name in this chapter, well, make that a lot of trouble. I originally spelt it with an A because I couldn't stand the manga spelling. Well, now I'm used to the manga spelling and the A is driving me nuts, so watch for that A to be removed, probably in the next chapter.

And Sara and Gaito were back - yay!! And then we had the Dark King's newest henchman dispatched to try and figure out what's going on.

Next chapter should be very intersting. In the meantime, please drop me review! I appreciate it!


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